“Fine,” I said.

“You’re still doing well in those art classes?”

“That’s Frankie,” I said. “I’m the one who’s doing well in English.”

“That’s right. That’s great. And what about Frankie? He’s doing okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, but I wanted to say, Frankie’s gay. I wanted to say it so badly. Frankie’s gay, and Karen’s dropping out of school, and Mom’s getting into trouble at church, and I’ve been blowing a pothead in the music room but I’m never going to have sex with anyone, ever again.

“Karen?” he said. “And Matt?” He looked tired already, running through this short list of names.

“Matt’s in Utica.”

“Right,” he said. “I know.” Then he glanced up and down the trail again as if disappointed anyone could ever leave such a setting and said, “I guess he likes it up there.”

I looked at the house behind him. “Do you have a pool?”

“No,” he said, as if he’d expected this question, “not me. Boy, if I did, I’d have you kids over to swim in it. That would be fun, huh?”

I nodded.

“Listen, Joe. What brings you around today?”

I thought about what I might tell him. I shrugged. “Nothing.”

“So everything’s all right? The house— Is it … cool enough?”

“It’s freezing.”

“Ha, ha. That’s good. I bought that central air unit, you know. Right after I … When your mother and I … The old air conditioner broke. You all would have baked alive, but I had a new one put in. I wanted to contribute, you know, and I told your mother I’d pay the electric. The bill comes straight here every month. You all don’t even see it.”

“She keeps it pretty cold,” I said.

“Ha, ha. Well, that’s her right. Good for her.”

“I have to go,” I said.

“Do you?” He drew on the cigarette, burned down now almost to the filter. “Well, don’t be a stranger, all right?” Then, without warning, his hand came up and patted my left arm. Pain shot into my chest and I felt tears come to my eyes. My entire body flinched and drew away from him, and when I looked up at his face I saw that his own eyes had gone damp. The hand he’d touched me with was lowered and turned palm up, as if to show me he wasn’t armed.

I said, “Okay,” making little more than a whisper of sound, and I nodded yes, then turned the handlebar with my right hand, rolling away from him.

He was saying something about putting in a swimming pool as I began to pedal.